Good Old Boat Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022

Short Voyages

A Southeast Sojourn Part Two: After Baranof Island, an Alaskan voyage brings more beauty, a few bears, and stories to tell. BY ANDY CROSS

A s we walk down the main pier in Craig Harbor, our family’s dock cart is heavily loaded with provisions and making a thud- ding clunk-clunk-clunk while passing over the well-worn boards. My wife, Jill, carries an armload of groceries next to me, and our two boys, ages 4 and 6, totter behind while looking down into the water or up at hulking fishing seiners. The only sailboat in this tiny Alaskan harbor, our 1984 Grand Soleil 39 Yahtzee , sits far out at the end and appears poised to push away from land. It’s mid-August, and another summer of cruising in Alaska, our third, is coming to a close. Unlike our previous two, though, we’re getting ready to head south instead of gearing up for the long, dark winter ahead. In 24 hours we’ll toss Yahtzee ’s docklines aboard, weave our way into the Pacific Ocean, and make a course nonstop for San Francisco, some 1,300 miles distant. That evening, as we sit in the cockpit talking through the plan for the next day and the voyage ahead, our family’s conversation turns reflective. Reminiscing about our journey to Southeast Alaska in 2017, then sailing to Kodiak Island, Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula, and finally, back to Southeast this summer (2019) has been nothing short of magical, and it is gratifying to recall so many wonderful memories.

Yahtzee has Gedney Harbor all to herself.

Be Bear-y Careful Jill kicks off story time with a tale from Trocadero Bay, Prince of Wales Island. But first, some context is required. At 35,138

Truly, Alaska is like no place on earth, and we feel exceedingly fortunate to have experienced so much of it. The past few weeks of sailing

for adventurous sailors. Due to its size, you simply can’t

see it all in one season—a fact we were well aware of when we arrived in spring 2017. Among the areas of Southeast that remained on our list of must-see places

through gorgeous islands and fjords have perfectly culminated our time here. It’s only appropriate then, that we keep with a family tradition when leaving some- where, and each

Truly, Alaska is like no place on earth.

square miles, Southeast Alaska is an immense cruising ground that offers extensive options

were the many islands and bays in the southern portion of Chatham Strait and near the

person picks a favorite moment from our recent adventures to share.

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